Zack Gelof is on a hot streak for the surging Athletics, and he and his teammates will try to turn the temperature up when they face the Colorado Rockies Sunday in the finale of a three-game series in Las Vegas.

The A’s will send left-hander Jeffrey Springs (3-6, 4.68 ERA) to the mound against Colorado right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (6-4, 4.08) with a chance to sweep the Rockies.

Gelof extended his hitting streak to 17 games on Saturday in the Athletics’ 7-5 win.

The A’s have won four in a row after debuting in Las Vegas with a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. They took the final two games against Milwaukee and the first two versus Colorado, which has lost three in a row.

The streaking A’s are heating up along with the weather in Las Vegas. The last three games have started with temperatures of 102 degrees or higher, and Sunday’s forecast is expected to hit 106 in mid-afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

It would be one of the hottest major league games in history should the teams still be playing at the day’s hottest time.

“It’s our job to go out there and play,” Nick Kurtz said. “That’s what we intend to do no matter the conditions. Is it going to always be fun? No. Will it be really hot and really brutal at times? Yeah. But our job as players is to go out there and do what we can to win the game.”

The A’s have been doing a lot of winning lately, but Springs has struggled. He is 0-6 in his last 10 appearances entering his first career encounter versus Colorado.

The Rockies, meanwhile, are stumbling after a 4-2 homestand, but have their most consistent starter going Sunday. Sugano, who leads Colorado starters in wins and ERA, can improve to 3-0 in June in his third career start against the A’s on Sunday. In his two previous outings against them he is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA.

Sugano will need help to get by the A’s, and catcher Brett Sullivan can serve as one of the catalysts for the Rockies. Sullivan is 6-for-13 in his last five games and has clubbed three of his four home runs of the season in the last three contests.

Sullivan had a solo shot Saturday night and added a sacrifice fly.

“He’s looked very comfortable the past week or so up at the plate, and he’s got some opportunities to play,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said.

Sullivan’s play has been overshadowed a bit by the strong debut of outfielder Cole Carrigg, who has two home runs since being called up before Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs.

Sullivan doesn’t mind sharing the credit for the team’s recent success, which had won two consecutive series before losing Saturday night.

“It’s not just personal momentum,” Sullivan said. “The guys have been playing great. When you get in there, you’re trying to keep up and just do your part.”

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies have lived two very different lives in their first two games against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Phillies hope to replicate their latest offensive performance on Sunday afternoon when they visit the Brewers in the decisive contest of a three-game set.

In Friday’s series opener, Jacob Misiorowski authored one of the greatest starts in Brewers’ history. He pitched a one-hitter for his first career complete game, struck out 15 without a walk and did it all without reaching the 100-pitch mark.

On Saturday, though, the Phillies set a season high with 17 hits in a 9-8 victory. J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in four runs, while Edmundo Sosa also went deep for the visitors.

“We weren’t bothered (tonight) by what happened last night, and I didn’t think we would be,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Honestly, anytime you face that, and (Misiorowski’s) throwing the ball like he did last night, it’s kind of easy to flush it. When a guy’s doing that, anybody you see after that is just not the same.”

Realmuto and Sosa had three hits, as did Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh. The Phillies have won 12 of their last 17 games, while the Brewers have dropped three of their last four contests.

“I think we have a really good group here and we’re able to do the little things,” said Milwaukee outfielder Jackson Chourio, who homered twice in Saturday’s setback. “I think things are going to go our way.”

For opponents of Cristopher Sanchez (8-2, 1.54 ERA), not much has gone their way this season. The Phillies’ left-hander has won six of his last seven starts, including Monday’s 5-2 triumph in Toronto in which he held the Blue Jays to two runs over seven innings.

Sanchez is looking for his eighth straight start of at least seven innings.

“I think it’s the pitch mix,” Sanchez said. “I try to play with them, what pitches they’re looking for. I try to play around with the pitches we use and the locations. Change their sights a little bit during the at-bats.”

Sanchez has made three previous appearances (two starts) against Milwaukee, posting a 2.03 ERA without a decision.

He’ll be opposed by another talented lefty in Kyle Harrison (7-1, 2.72), who has struggled in two prior appearances against Philadelphia. In those two contests, Harrison has allowed six runs and 17 hits in 8 1/3 innings en route to a 0-1 record with a 6.48 ERA.

Fast-forward to the present, though, and Harrison again is dealing with some ugly numbers on his stat sheet. Last Monday against the Athletics, he gave up eight runs and eight hits — including three home runs — in only 2 1/3 innings.

Harrison had surrendered a total of four runs in his previous seven starts.

“It’s tough to say, right? I mean, you watch that game,” Harrison said. “Yeah, I think it’s just kind of flush it, move on to the next one. Obviously, not the best stuff, not the best locations with the stuff. So yeah, just chalk it up on a crappy day in Vegas, that’s it.”

–Field Level Media

Logan Webb might need to finish what he starts Sunday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants attempt to avoid a three-game sweep in their home series against the Chicago Cubs.

Using eight doubles and four home runs, the Cubs have overpowered the Giants both at the plate and on the mound in the first two games of the set, winning 5-1 and 6-1.

Runs have been hard to come by for the opponent, however, since Webb returned from the injured list on May 29. He has limited the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals to a total of two runs and nine hits over 19 1/3 innings.

The Giants have lost two of those games, including Monday against the Nationals when Webb (3-4, 3.88 ERA), having thrown 99 pitches, was pulled with a 3-1 lead after eight innings.

Reliever Keaton Winn then served up three runs in the top of the ninth, denying Webb a win and sending the Giants to a 4-3 defeat.

Giants manager Tony Vitello said the pitch count for a player who had missed 3 1/2 weeks with knee soreness played a major role in the decision to deny Webb a shot at what could have been just his fourth career complete game.

The veteran right-hander, who has gone 2-1 with a 4.01 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Cubs, made one thing clear after the loss: the knee pain is ancient history.

“It’s been back to normal for the last two (starts),” he assured reporters after the game. “I feel a lot better now, so I’m just happy I can contribute.”

The Cubs have to be feeling pretty good about the way they’ve peppered the ball around San Francisco’s pitcher-friendly Oracle Park in the first two games of the series.

Nine different Cubs have hits in the series, including six with doubles and four with home runs.

Chicago likely will have to play the series finale without Seiya Suzuki, who injured his right knee trying to make a catch in the outfield Saturday night. Afterward, the club was calling the injury “discomfort.”

Suzuki has been one of the chief offensive contributors in the wins with three hits, including a pair of doubles.

Shooting for a third straight impressive pitching performance by their pitchers, the Cubs have scheduled left-hander Ryan Rolison (5-1, 2.25) in likely an opener role for Colin Rea (5-4, 5.19) in the series finale.

Rea is 1-4 with an 8.80 ERA in six career starts against the Giants. Rolison got the win by pitching a scoreless 10th inning on June 6 when the Cubs defeated the Giants 3-2.

While a bulk of the work probably will be done by Rea, all eyes will be on Rolison in the first inning or two, when he most likely will have to deal with San Francisco lefties Luis Arraez, Bryce Eldridge and Rafael Devers.

That trio has combined for eight of the Giants’ 11 hits in the series. Rolison has held left-handed hitters to a cumulative .182 average this season.

“Ryan’s been a really, really nice development on this team,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of the waiver claim from the Chicago White Sox. “He’s pitched in some enormous moments, and he’s delivered in those situations.”

— Field Level Media